Thursday, October 19, 2006

A Splendid Friend, Indeed



A Splendid Friend, Indeed by Suzanne Bloom, 2005

The opening pages of this book are wordless but the incredible texture of the polar bear's fur stretches across two pages and begs to be touched. The fur is rendered in pastels or chalk and the tips of the hairs have a green algae tinge to them just like polar bears I have seen at the zoo.

Duck is enthusiastically trying to gain the bear's attention by claiming to enjoy all the things Bear enjoys like reading and writing. Bear is not amused nor interested until Duck writes him a letter from the heart. They become splendid friends.

The simple language is embellished by the comical expressions of Bear and Duck. There is a easy warmth to this story that underscores the importance of not making snap judgements about new people we meet.
A 2X2 selection

3 comments:

PJ Librarian said...

This is a fun book. We picked it up a few months ago and our little one really likes both the characters. I think the artwork is what really draws her attention. Plus, the short text is great. Not too much, but just enough to get the message across.

MotherReader said...

That looks very sweet. I'll look for it at my library.

Jonathan Siberry said...

Great sketches of the polar bear

i thought it was a good read myself

Jonathan (car salvage enthusiast)